Institute of Gerontology


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Leonard W. Poon

Director
lpoon@geron.uga.edu

255 E. Hancock Avenue
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-5775
706.425.3222 (voice)
706.425.3221 (fax)



Educational Background

B.S. Engineering, San Jose State University

Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, University of Denver

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Psychophysiology, Neuropsychology, Aging, Duke University Center for the Study of Aging & Human Development

Philosophiae Doctorem Honoris Causa, Lund University, Sweden



Research Interests

Dr. Poon has research programs which are directed towards several major issues in gerontology. His primary research area funded by NIMH and NIA since 1988 is focused on survival and longevity of the oldest old, the Georgia Centenarian Study. The current NIA-funded program project focuses on genetics, neuropathology, functional capacity, and successful adaptation of centenarians. Faculty researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows from nine universities participate in this program project. He also directs in the last 12 years the 7-country International Centenarian Consortium which collaborates on cross cultural studies. His other current research interests focus on public health and older adults as well as a HRSA-funded Geriatric Education Center in partnership with the Emory University Geriatric Medicine and the Armstrong Atlantic State University College of Health Professions. This project is charged to elevate geriatric education for health professionals throughout the state of Georgia . His other funded project by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is on distance education partnership in gerontology. This project is charged to coordinate distance education, annual student mentorship conferences in the southeast, master teacher series, and seed grants for faculty and students in gerontology. He has a continuous research and interest on cognitive aging. His research includes every-day memory processes in the elderly, cognition and speed of behavior in older adults, clinical memory assessment, cognition in and survivorship of the oldest-old, as well as specific changes that occur in cognitive systems with Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Poon is past president of the Division of Adult Development and Aging of the American Psychological Association and past chair of the Behavioral and Social Science Section of the Gerontological Society of America. He was a member of NIH's Human Development and Aging Study Section and has chaired NIMH's Clinical Centers and Special Review Committee. His research is funded by NIA, NIMH, and the AARP Andrus Foundation.

Selected Publications

A. Assessment of Older Adults.

Poon, L. W., Gurland, B., Eisdorfer, C., Crook, T., Thompson, L. W. , Kaszniak, A., & Davis, K. (Eds.). (1986). Handbook for clinical memory assessment of older adults. Washington , DC : American Psychological Association.

Poon, L. W., Fozard, J. L. , Cermak, L. S. , Arenberg, D., & Thompson, L. W. (Eds.). (1980). New directions in memory and aging: Proceedings of the George A Talland Memorial Conference. Hillsdale , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.

Poon, L. W., Rubin, D., & Wilson, B. (Eds.). (1989). Everyday cognition in adulthood and late life. NY: Cambridge University Press.

Courses Taught

GRNT 6700: Psychology of Aging